Facebook Ups Its Forecast: Says Shares Will Sell For $34 To $38

Strong demand for its first public sale of stock has led Facebook to raise its forecast for how much each share will sell for when the company goes public on Friday.

"We anticipate that the initial public offering price will be between $34.00 and $38.00 per share," the company says in a statement filed earlier today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Earlier, the social medial giant had expected shares would sell for $28 to $35 each.

As Dow Jones Newswires says, "The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that the company would raise the price due to overwhelming demand by investors." CNN.com adds that "Facebook executives and the company's IPO underwriters have spent the past two weeks on the road meeting with potential investors and measuring the demand for the company's stock."

About 337 million shares are going on sale. Think you'll be able to get some at the initial price? Well, as The Associated Press reports, "you'll need Facebook friends at very high levels — or a lot of money. Most people who like the idea of owning Facebook's stock will have difficulty getting it at the offer price. ... Unless you know the right people at Facebook, you'll likely need to have a large, active account with one of the big banks or brokerage firms directly involved in the stock sale."

The Wall Street Journal notes that of the 337 million shares, "only a fraction of that amount will go to small investors" because most brokerages have set "steep eligibility requirements" for those seeking to get in on the action. "For example, at Fidelity, clients must have at least $500,000 in their account or have made 36 trades in the past year. Long-tenured clients with the most assets and who trade the most frequently will have preference, says a spokesman."